11 January 2015

Indera SC, MS ABDB impress

Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, January 11, 2015

AS WE look back at the year 2014 that has become a part of history, we can certainly say that it was a momentous year for the football season of Brunei Darussalam.It was a thrilling season, where we witness some exciting and nail-biting encounters. But Indera Sports Club and Royal Brunei Armed Forces Sports Council (MS ABDB) will remember 2014 more fondly as they emerged champions of the DST Super League and DST FA Cup respectively.The football enthusiasts will cherish this season as it saw brilliant goals, memorable matches, wonderful performances.However, the season had its share of controversies too.In this report The Brunei Times will take readers down memory lane and provide them the review of the 2014 DST Super League and DST FA Cup season.It was another good year for Indera Sports Club after successfully defending the DST Super League title with two games left to play after a 7-1 thrashing of QAF FC on September 3.Indera eventually won 14 games, lost one and drew one to finish at the top of the nine-team league table with 43 points ahead of MS ABDB with 37 points and they have scored 51 goals and only let in 14 throughout the campaign.But 2014 season was for MS ABDB to take after winning the DST FA Cup and defeating Indera SC 2-1 in the final of the DST Super League at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas on September 13.“This year’s competition has been great as we managed to win the DST FA Cup,” said Major Pg Farisan Pg Metassan in an interview with The Brunei Times.“We got second place at the DST Super league but we beat the unbeatable Indera SC in the last game of the league which shows that we can beat any team in the league and to top that we also won the best fair play team and best player awards in the league.MS ABDB’s Mohd Mazazizi Mazlan was awarded the best player of the 2014 DST Super League season and the midfielder played a very important role for MS ABDB in the season.“Now we are focusing on our ultimate target of winning the 2015 DST Super League and the preparations will start soon,” he added.The MS ABDB lifted the DST FA Cup after a comfortable 2-0 win over Najip FC on January 4.Mohd Baharin Hamidon and Abd Azizi Ali Rahman both found the net in the victory at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium.The year also saw Majra United controversially withdrawing from the 2014 DST Super League and ceased their operations as a football club entirely.The reason for the pullout was triggered by Majra’s May 13 game against MS ABDB when Majra captain Faizal Mohammad was found guilty of assaulting the referee and was subsequently banned from all football activities for five years starting from May 14.The National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) charged the 2011 DST League Cup champions Majra $500 for negligence in managing the team and their fans during the match.MS ABDB were awarded a 3-0 victory based on Article 57 of NFABD’s Disciplinary Code, a decision that was deemed unfair by the club which led to the dismemberment of the club.One of the season's great entertainers Najip managed to reach the final of the DST FA Cup and finished third in the league with 27 points.They have provided a fascinating challenge at the top throughout the 2014 season and surprised everyone when they took down Indera 2-1 to reach the final of the DST FA Cup for the first time.Alongside Indera and MS ABDB, Najip will be the other team to watch for the upcoming 2015 DST Super League and DST FA Cup season.The Brunei Times